Heading over to Bear Island (170/201/21), the place looked like what I remembered it from the Second Life Birthday. For those who don't know, many Lindens carry a teddy bear with them, each having their own personal touches depending on the Linden, that residents they run into can politely ask for (if the Linden's having a busy day, your bear may have to wait). Bear Island has most of these bears, plus some special commemorative ones, such as the one given out to celebrate the one millionth resident getting an account, and the one made to promote the release of Viewer 2.

There were other residents going about the area. This week, people could grab more than just the weekly gift. One lady was saying, "I'm always pestering lindens anytime I see them for their bears, this way I can get them a bunch all at once."

In previous weeks, some chests could take a little effort to find, one week it being on the second floor of the building. The chest for this week's gift was plain to see. I had on my "Swaganator HUD" (not visible in this picture), and got the gift.

Previous weeks gifts have included t-shirts, a crystal staff, a can of "party string", and more. This week, the gift is a crystal teddy bear. Not the most cuddly-looking kind of teddy, but one can change it's color by clicking on it.

This week is Week Seven of the Gift Grab, with a new one every week. The one for the fifteenth week is available only for those who get the first fourteen. What is it? We know only that the Lab says it's a special gift.

Monday, July 30, 2018

The InWorldz grid is gone. On Friday afternoon, most of their residents found themselves no longer able to log in, and by Saturday morning the place had completely shut down. The closing has left many sad former users with a decision: where do I go now? From both InWorldz and Second Life residents, there have been a number of other questions such as "How could this happen?" "Will there be another InWorldz?" "Could this happen to Second Life?" Yours truly offers a few answers, or partial answers, based on my observations.

A number of things happened this weekend. On late Friday and Saturday morning, the InWorldz Grid shut down. On Saturday, there was a memorial concert for musician Maxx Sabretooth. On Sunday, the Relay for Life in Second Life had the closing event of it's 2018 fundraising season, the Relay Wrap-Up.

From Holocluck Henley in July 27, "inWorld's final day and its final party. Towards the end as the party
sim became unavailable we had to move to public land (which wasn't so
bad). Best of luck to IW friends, acquaintances and colleagues wherever
you end up."

Sunday, July 29, 2018

From the Happy Vixen. Humans don't usually have too many problems with the creatures that most resemble the primates they evolved from. Anything intelligent that could trace it's ancestry to sharks however, that could be quite a problematic relationship.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

"ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES is a machinima (a film created in a virtual
environment) from CEH Productions – Judith Cullen of the Seanchai
Library, Richard Elen of Radio Riel and Designing Worlds, and Honey
Heart of Elite Equestrian. The 15-minute film, shot in the virtual world
of Second Life®, is based on a short story written by Cullen and
originally recorded for Fantasy Faire Radio as part of the 10th Fantasy
Faire, the annual SL-based fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society.

"The story was inspired by, and performed in, a superbly-imagined
Steampunk-inspired spaceport created by leading virtual world creators
The Looking Glass – Sharni Azalee and Marcus Inkpen – for Fantasy Faire
2018, and loaned for the shoot.

"ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES presents a glimpse into two individual
journeys that are brought together and shared for the last time. It is
about the one who leaves, the one left behind, and the essential role of
each. Though the word is never uttered in the film, it essentially
addresses aspects of our attitudes towards death.

“'He has accepted the journey on which he must now embark,' says author
and storyteller Cullen. 'His last act is to pass along that which has
been most important in his life to someone who is remaining behind –
requesting their commitment to carry on the work.'

“She is dropped into loss, grief, and accepting his legacy with no
warning or time to become accustomed to its inevitability,' Cullen goes
on. 'She must choose to be present for him in this moment, accept the
commitment with which he tasks her, and be prepared to continue on –
while at the same time dealing with the shock and weight of it.'

"ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES also highlights the vital importance of
storytelling, harking back to an earlier time when tales were woven into
a verbal tradition that was handed down by word of mouth from one
generation to the next.

" Technical Director Heart re-erected the spaceport as a film set, and
used a range of in-world animations and path-scripting techniques to
realize the action, which was shot by Cullen and Elen, who also
performed the two lead roles in their avatar forms (Caledonia Skytower
and Elrik Merlin). The footage was then edited conventionally.

"The project was a transatlantic collaboration, with Cullen in Washington
State, Heart in Michigan and Elen in Scotland. The soundtrack recording
and production co-ordination was carried out in Skype, sharing screens
while shooting, and ‘dailies’ were viewed via the cloud. The film was
released on 22 July 2018."

Friday, July 27, 2018

Friday July 27 was InWorldz last day. Logging in at 2:30PM PST, people were gathering at InWorldz Desert Island, one of the last sims still up.Most of the rest of the sims had been shut down. Some were lamenting the downfall of the grid, others were looking back at the fun they had, and perhaps later on in another virtual world.

Ten minutes later, as the radio was playing, "Closing Time," the sim crashed.

I relogged, and was moved to InWorldz Sandbox2. This would be the last place in the grid I would see. Minutes later at 2:55PM PST, my viewer quit working. When I restarted, it listed 66 people still online, but I never could get on again. And in Discord chat, the number still there was getting smaller and smaller.

InWorldz, after over nine years in operation, and a week of raised and dashed hopes and plenty of confusion, has finally been shut down.

Closing time, time for you to go out
To the places you will be from
Closing time, this room won't be open
Till your brothers or your sisters come.

So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time, every new beginning
Comes from some other beginning's end, yeah.

I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home
Take me home.

There's a new exhibit at the National Museum of Caledon. While it has a lot of artwork, mostly dark and morbid, it's not the pictures that are the center of the exhibit, but of the poetry that they inspired. Andrea Jones did a number of grim poems based on these pictures she'd seen, and one can see both at the Museum owned by Star (Astarynite Resident). I attended the grand opening event, of which Cynthia Farshore provided the music

I was informed of the closing when I logged in yesterday. I normally get emails from InWorldz, but nope not on this. So I was surprised by Sam Leader in my inbox the minute I logged in and no one seemed to know a thing about when things were closing.

So everyone is scrounging to pull up stakes. Someone said it was a sudden eviction and the only ones who really knew about anything were the inner click and they didn't start spilling anything until a few days ago I guess everyone was in the same boat logged in usual time yesterday and slammed with closing announcements. Not nice.

There are a lot of disabled people and older people who play here. That sort of sudden "get out" message is hard for someone not in great health to stay up for two days straight and download 8 years of their life....type of thing.

Then you have the creators that took a chance here like Pulse skins, Twisted Thorn Textures, Katy's Creations, Seda's Creations, Seer's FP, and the rest. If they didn't keep .xml's on the hard drive then it is come in and delete their whole inventory so they do not get ripped off by the back up of servers. type of thing.

We all felt so safe here because of dcma's being taken serious....griefers were handled. How do we know they won't just take what we all leave to this new as their own property? This is teaching all of us how flimsy our hold is on our creations in truth. If some grid like Second Life closed, how do we prove the inventory and assets are not theirs? The best I can do personally is just let what I do not get out go and wish for the best....I will make more new things in the future....just sort of sad if I run across one of my builds in another grid by someone else. I had that happen in SL before. I didn't understand permissions when I started and had a whole set of clothing packs ended up in the free bie areas. It was sad all the hours I spent on them to have them show up given away for free by someone else. I learned (laughter).

This is teaching me also (grin), the do not sweat the small stuff and just have fun when I am in Virtual Worlds.

By Thursday July 27, it was becoming increasingly clear that there would be no saving of the InWorldz Grid, at least in it's current form. Instead, the plan was to for people to rezz their items at sandboxes where they would be saved and accounted for when owner Beth Reischl and her staff make a new one. Deciding to check things for myself, I headed to InWorldz Desert Island, where I first entered the place more than seven years ago.

There were others around, and I chatted with a few. Some hadn't heard the news about the Grid's closing until a day or two ago, and asked me (and others) for the latest news. Others were more or less up to date, and much like me were coming on for some last looks.

Some clubs were making the most of it, having a final bash where longtime friends could spend their last moments in the grid they knew together, or take a break between exploring around.

And exploring around, sometimes one could find a vehicle and drive it around. Some sims were already closed to entry, in the process of being shut down.

As went around and listened in on a few chats, people talked about what they'd loose from various items, to of course their money as withdraws had been frozen. But one man was upset about his pet horse as despite that items could be copied, scripts could not be and so any pets were basically doomed, "My oldest horse, the one I've had since I first arrived in InWorldz, Bandette, an Infinitude, I adore that horse, he's so realistic (sad) and listen'n to him 'talk' and prance 'n paw the ground right now, breaks my heart (sad expression)."

Some of the people I ran into also had accounts on Second Life, and at least one told others they could meet her there. Others looked forward to the replacement grid, whenever that will be. Others talked about various smaller girds they'd be going to. As someone in "Free Script Library" chat put it, "Seems we are destined to scatter to the four winds." Another woman thought InWorldz's collapse would have a chilling effect on peoples' confidence to invest in smaller virtual worlds, "Question is if people will be able to trust the grid owners after the issues and stunts with IW that has happened, to be honest."

There's still a lot of uncertainly about inWorldz's shutting down, and the Gofundme that started out as an effort to save InWorldz and then was changed after most of the money was raised confused many and angered some. A number of people I've talked to on the matter feel there's something fishy about how the shutdown is going about. Others instead express confidence in InWorldz's owner and staff and look forward to the new virtual world. About the only thing that can be spoken for certainty at this point is that today, Friday July 27, the sun sets on the virtual world on InWorldz for the last time.

Bixyl Shuftan

Addition: Someone asked me how things look for the 2018 Relay for Life in InWorldz season. Sorry to say without an InWorldz to hold it in, and no date given for the grid that we're told will take it's place, it's looking like it will be called off.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

When it comes to virtual worlds, to many residents there's Second Life and then there's everybody else. But some among the "everybody else" stood out. For several years, the largest alternative to Second Life was the InWorldz grid, which stood over other OpenSpace worlds in terms of both active and total accounts. A few years ago, with rumors of Linden Lab thinking about an "exit strategy," a number of residents were taking a closer look at the smaller virtual world. So what happened?

For all those that have been asking me what is going on with InWorldz, I’d like to make a public statement.

I have not been involved in the management
or operation of InWorldz since the end of 2016. I have not been privy to
company information regarding finances or operational factors since at
least that time. I don’t know the state of the loan agreement that was
executed by Beth Reischl alone. I do not know if the creditors that are
owed money by Beth and InWorldz, LLC have been repaid, or if they are
still seeking final resolution to what sounds like a loan default.

Further, I don’t know where the funds from
the GoFundMe campaign that Beth Reischl started are going. Since the
decision has now been made to start a new grid, I do not know if those
funds that were collected under the name of InWorldz, LLC are now being
funneled to a new business entity, or personal accounts.

I feel very badly for all residents that
are at the risk of losing their home and their things. I have missed
being a part of the InWorldz community and spirit for the past few
years, but the business has struggled due to a constant push for the
lowest possible price against competition with no business model. We
have all had to make sacrifices and, in some cases, move on to make ends
meet.

I hope the Beth can clarify how this new
grid will operate, and how InWorldz, LLC’s creditors will be repaid
given a possible move to a new business entity.

I miss you all. I miss hearing how InWorldz
improved your life. I miss hearing about the new love and real-life
marriages that happened because of our service. InWorldz will always
hold a special place in my heart, and I’ll always remember what you all
taught me…

Always, just one more dance.

Sincerely,

David C Daeschler

In the meantime, the hours tick away for the virtual world, the day the servers set to expire being Friday July 27.

Update: InWorldz has provided a Schedule of OARS , "After we produce the OAR file, the items will be cleared from the region
and it will be taken down. This way you'll know when the OAR file has
been done. I know everyone wants more time, but we don't have any more
time to give. So by producing a full OAR, we can process them over the
next week to get items filtered out and moved on to their region owners."

But will the money be used for it's original purpose? At Update Number Three, Reischl seemed to be saying instead of saving the grid, the money would be used to create a new one.

Wow! Everyone has been amazing! So here's where things stand. I asked in
discord this afternoon, once we hit our goal, then what? What about
next month? After much agonizing and upset, it was suggested by the
residents that we use these monies to start a new grid. We'll be able to
move OARS, profiles, groups. Inventory can only be taken that can be
put in a box to be OAR filed. We'll be opening the sandbox for people
who have no region to place their items and can get them back.

If you are NOT ok with this, I urge you to please withdraw your support
on the page. I do not want to take anyone's money who is not ok with
this! Otherwise, please start boxing your items up on your region or ask
a friend or tomorrow I'll be opening the Sandboxes up for people!

Every single one of you simply amazes me!

There were some unhappy comments following this announcement.

Toysolider Thor: I thought this was to save Inworldz. Why now still abandon Inworldz and
force everyone to change to a new grid? I am lost. Inworldz has a lot
of invested brand recognition and many have an emotional affinity to
it. I dont get it.

Lin Stamos-Valentine: So the $17,000 was NOT to pay the loan and set up a new payment platform
then (as we were told)? You are using it to start a new grid and we
only have a few days to save 8 years (in my case) worth of work? Even
though you HAD to know long before now that InWorldz was a lost cause?
Jim says no matter what the grid was closing, but I thought we could
save it, but now we aren't. Did I donate to start a new grid? NO! I
donated to save InWorldz. I am asking for a refund. Go ahead and get mad
at me, but I feel very betrayed at the moment.

Elpida Tisagapi: Ok STOP! the fund raising was to safe IW not to make a new grid! IW is
special and its the ppl and the community there that makes it special.
The goal is nearly reached and will give Beth a month to sort the
problems with the loan people. Moving to another grid is NOT solving
anything at all! Never mind there are no full perm creators, in their
right mind, who will ever give their permission to move to a new grid
with NO control what so ever. I know I speak for Tao Dreamscape in this
matter too. There is NO way she will agree to that. I look after Tao's
store on both IW and SL (the customer service side) and please take
this as if Tao herself stated it. For me its IW or nothing. Fight for IW
instead of taking the easy road.

Gillian Holmes: It was not 'suggested by the residents' that you start a new grid, it
was decided by a small clique of people who rudely refuse to listen to
the views of others. Most residents don't even know about this yet. I
think you have taken money under false pretences. The initial 'cause'
has been replaced by totally different one. You should refund all
donations and start again clearly stating exactly what you are raising
the money for. As it stands this could be viewed as fraud.

Others were more supportive.

Hypatia Emerson: They are doing what they have to with what they have to work with. They
didn't come up with the idea to start a new grid. The people on IW
suggested it and talked Ele into it on Discord. She could just tell you
all to go take a leap. She didn't she set up a go fund me to save our
homes. The timing is too short to save the grid so she asked what to do
and IW people said make a new one and transfer us over.

Tom Minor: Inworldz isn't the grid, it's the people.. and the creative spirit they share. That is what's worth preserving. Frand Lupschen: The current discussion and I have been brought up to the current
situation. InWorldz as a business has been killed by the loanshark
company. It no longer has any business assets. The account is empty. So
the business is really dead. What is happening now is that everyone is
to put out the content they wish to keep in their regions and oars will
be made of the regions. For those who do not have land, several sandbox
regions will be made available. The oars, user list DB of active
accounts will be retained and used to build a new grid that will use the
saved content as the starting point for a new world.

So while it looks like the Gofundme will succeed, some new questions have arisen about the long-term future of the virtual world. Stay tuned for further details.

Update: As of 10AM PST, some people have withdrawn their donations, lowering the total raised to $16,211. Also, comments have appeared to have been disabled.

As many of you know, I posted this morning about current state of
affairs in InWorldz. We have decided NOT to go down without a fight! But
to do so, we need your support! I refunded most payments this morning
via PayPal (there are still some needing refunding), and we will apply
your donations to your region tier. We need $17k to get bank balance
back to normal (because we paid off LoanBuilders one payment and Chase
let it go through putting us in negative) and pay the servers for
another month.

I will be honest, Cashouts will be put off until we get everything
organized, but all older cashouts will be held to be first paid off as
things stabilize.

I know InWorldz is a home to so many of you,
and I was willing to close the doors on that as I had not seen any way
out of the impending doom. However, if you can donate, we can get the
servers going and we'll get a new payment system in place that is not
PayPal, but still allow all of our Domestic and European customers pay! I
hope I can count on you and so do your neighbors! We will apply
donations that match billing records as needed, just let us know which
region and we'll update accordingly. Remember, if we don't hit our goal,
you lose nothing! Let's hit it peeps!

As of the writing of this article, the total raised has gone up to $8290, slightly less than half of what's needed.

It was on Sunday, July 21, that Graine Macbain announced that she would be closing her Blue Curacao sim, and with it her Riverside Café and Galleries. The Newser contacted her and invited her to say a few things about the closing. She responded by sending us a few pictures of an event that took place that day in Scottius Polke's mushROOM high above the sim, and a statement explaining how her places came to be, and why her sim could no longer stay up.

Cassie built a lovely palace for #RelayForLifeofSecondLife and the approximately 2000 prim palace that is made for a 1/8 region -it would certainly fit all your needs. Team ACTS thanks you so much for your contribution - please notify me if interested. Rezzer box - you can rezz and then derezz for next event. Feel Free to come take a look !

Monday, July 23, 2018

In a long statement from InWorldz owner Beth Reisch, she announced that the virtual world may soon be closing down.

"... this is probably the hardest post I've ever written about the state of InWorldz," she stated, then gave a rundown of the gridlock that had put a stop to paying the bills, "what all of this means is very simple: Without payment from the funds
sitting in the UCC liens, RackSpace will be shutting our servers down.
I've extended our servers out until Friday, July 27. I can not process
cashouts, no payments may be sent out. For that, I'm truly sorry."

There are reports that Reisch is trying to pull a last-ditch attempt to save the virtual world. But her chances of success are uncertain.

Usually it's a great thing to find out about a well-done sim. But if you find out the place will soon be gone, the joy is mixed with some sadness. I was recently told about the Garden of Absentia, made by Filo Tani and Sage Allegiere. But after a decade, the sim will soon be going away. So I went there and took a look around.

From Maeto Firecaster, a picture of the Newser's SL15B exhibit, "BREAKING NEWS!!!! Sonic has taken over!" Presumably this picture was taken at Silvia Ametza's build when "The Birthday" was at it's busiest as the only way Sonic would stay in one place for long would be all that lag.

There's been a lot going on in Second Life. So here's a list describing several happenings in brief.

Kim Kardashian has been using Second Life avatars as part of her promoting a new brand of her perfumes (article by Ozon).

It was announced that the The Garden of Absentia and Memorial in Garden of Absentia (135/155/22) would be closing on August 1.

Graine Macbain, the owner of Blue Curacao where The Riverside Café and Galleries and The Avian Retreat are announced her sim would be closing on August 2 (Fritter Enzyme's 2014 interview): Blue Curacao (54/52/21)

Andreas Jones' "Reflections of Darkness" opened at the National Museum of Caledon on Sunday July 22: Caledon II (164/52/23)

Team Shadow, The Cure Chasers, and Team ACTS jointly held their final event, a formal ball on Saturday July 21.

Hey folks, here is a copy of the takedown schedule for which areas of Yosemite Sim will be taken down, on which day, and in which order. This is so that you can best plan your remaining visits prior to the closing date on July 29th. Thank you for all your supportive messages during the past few weeks. It means a lot to me. ♥

We have faced a lot in the last four
years. We have raised so much money, that every drop of sweat spent on
the Castle Home and Garden contest was 110% worth it. Your builds, your
designs and your support has been amazing.

We face several
challenges this season, including Henrietta’s passing and Rowena being
computer-less and hospital bound for a good amount of time. We are also
without a website as Hilshire was owner of it and it poofed (Hilshire passed away as well).
We have been told we can “scale down” the contest a bit along with
other suggestions, but we are not going to scale down anything. With
that being said, in order for the CHG to be as successful as it deserves
to be, the Castle Home and Garden contest will be postponed to the 2019
season. The current sign ups and builds will remain as they are- if you
are building, please don’t be discouraged- see this as just more time
to perfect your build. 2019 will bring us the 5th annual CHG...
bigger and better than ever. Henrietta would kill us if we canceled so
it is just a postponement for a little while longer.
Please excuse Rowena’s absence this year. He will be back better than
ever ready to go for the Christmas Expo and, of course; the 2019 Relay
season- which will bring us the 5th Annual CHG.

Since 2016 the Blue Angels have had the
unique privilege of demonstrating to the Second Life public the
precision techniques of Naval Aviation, hoping to inspire a culture of
excellence and service to country. We are honored to make a quick detour
from our FIRST SECOND WORLD TOUR in progress and jump to Corsica from
France where we currently are located for this unprecedented Blue Angels
event (see here for the first stop of the BLUE ANGELS FIRST SECOND WORLD TOUR!).

The
CORSICA INTERNATIONAL AIR SHOW is part of the Cannery Cove grand opening
and this program is air show centered. For complete details of all that
is happening at Cannery Cove for the grand opening please contact
Tealcie Annibles! ( Profile here! )

HIGH SUMMER MEANS HIGH ADVENTURE
There will be plenty of that this week, as series continue and solos stories join them. You can join us as well, this week in #secondlife, and on our properties in #kitely, live in voice.

** WEDNESDAY, July 25th at 7pm: Stephen Fry's MYTHOS continues with Caledonia - "No one loves and quarrels, desires and deceives as boldly and brilliantly as Greek gods and goddesses. They are like us, only more so ... "

Friday, July 20, 2018

"All good things must come to an end." And so after a few days so would the campsites on the track sims that the Relay Weekend took place on. But before the teardown, there would be one more party: the Flood Party. A Relay tradition in one form or another since 2010, a number of the Relayers gathered once again for a little fun in the water before, one last chance to have fun before the sad task of taking down the campsites.

Despite the lag on Saturday, it was a good Relay Weekend on July 14 and July 15. Most of the team campsites were up for a few more days, a few being picked up early for whatever reason. After the "Raze the Relay" party, a number of teams moved fast. Rather than simply pick everything up, the Sunbeamers had their Hope Lodge go up in a blaze of glory (image credit Cynthia Farshore).

When I walked the track that night, it looked like half the campsites were gone or mostly gone.

But there were still others up which I explored. Among them, Stingray's designer sim which included a twin-tower roller coaster.

A few people left a final message on their plots.

And so, with the Relay track all but down, the sun is setting on another Relay season. I have heard a handful of complaints, and at least one Relayer told me she will be taking a break next year. But all in all, it was a great season, and for my home community, it's team the Sunbeamers had their best year ever. For me personally, this means the "busy season" is winding down and after a few more articles about the Relay, I'll be able to relax a little. But only a little as the news never stops for long around here.

Saturday July 7 was the day of the Newser's crew meeting. Attending from right to left were Jamiethefoxy, Klaus Bereznyak, Deaflegacy, and Bixyl Shuftan (myself). We traded ideas about what to write about, such as the upcoming Relay Weekend (which was the reason this pictures weren't posted last week), and other subjects.

At the end up the meeting when we all stood up, I noticed something about Klaus. He was shoeless. "Oh yes - it's the summer," he told me, "I have been hoboing." I reminded him with a grin, "Bare feet for a fur is one thing, for a human avatar, a bit more watch where you walk." "Hee hee - I will."

Thursday, July 19, 2018

From Jessicabelle Dayafter, "I saw someone wearing this shirt awhile back, and had to have it, as how fitting for it to be worn on a skunk. (big grin) I am pleased with the pics for a super quicky shoot."

Early this month, it was announced that Brandi Streusel had taken an indefinite break from Second Life. The Newser is happy to report that the little mousegirl of the Sunweaver/Angel community is back, and doing some music DJing, " I've missed both so much." She is currently playing at Python's Dance Club on Wednesdays.

Also, the "Two Vixens and a Wolf" radio show, which the Newser reported on recently, is getting a new location to listen in from inworld besides their studio in Rabbit Valley: the Sunweaver's main club and hangout of Club Cutlass. Svetlana Snowpaw (Sarah Golem) made the following announcement on Tuesday July 17.

Hello I just wanted to let everyone know about our fairly new Radio show "2 Vixens and a Wolf" we are going live at 5PM SL Time (27 Minutes) you can listen in at allfurradio.com for our 3 hour furry talk show which we do EVERY MONDAY (Today is exception due to technical difficulties) from 5PM-8PM SL TIME

Unfortunately, not all the news from the Sunweaver community has been good. On Monday or Tuesday this week, community leader Rita Mariner was taken to the hospital due to an infection. She was released Wednesday. Also Dusk Griswold's real-life spouse has been in the hospital for several days. Her condition was initially serious, but she has been recovering and will hopefully be home again soon.

We will gather there at 1pm SL time ahead of the landing time, and again at 7:30pm in advance of the first steps on the Moon to watch the videos and discuss the past, present and future of space exploration and development.

It's been about two weeks since Linden Lab put into effect their reduction in what they charge for land tiers (for non-grandfathered sims), while raising the fee to buy Linden dollars. While the Lab gave no clear reason for their move beyond "to keep Second Life a vibrant world," it's strongly believed the reason for this move was to stop the overall long slow decline in the number of sims. A recent report by Tyche Shepard, who keeps track of new sims and sim numbers in Second Life showed something promising. Total numbers of private estates show growth for two weeks in a row, 35 the past week and 34 the one before for a total growth of 69 sims.

We are now two weeks into the new pricing regime for Private Estates and this is now the 2nd week of positive growth of the grid
Net Growth stands at 35 regions this week (last week was 34) All this week's net growth was among private Estates .
Overall , taking into account last weeks closure of the 24 Temporary
SL15B regions , Net Change in Private Estates since the new prices
stands at 94 New or Returned Regions
I've no record of Region type at the moment, and therefore no estimate
of overall change in revenue for the Lab, but the initial change in
demand doesn't seem enough to increase overall revenue at this stage.

Two weeks is obviously too short a time to declare the slump over, but it does raise hopes that the long slow decline, from over 25,000 in June 2010 to just over 16,000 now, might, just might, be over. We'll need at least another two weeks or so before we can say so.